Quitting only gets you out of a bad place! It does not get you into a good place.
Too many addicts manage to quit “using” without realizing that “quitting” is only the first stage of their recovery.
To get to a good place, addicts need to go beyond this stage … beyond quitting … and begin looking at themselves holistically. They need to look at other changes needed such as the ability to make good life choices, to change self-defeating habits and develop coping skills.
Addicts need the skills to control the events, people and places that influence the thinking that precedes relapse and brings about failure to recover.
In AA there is a term often used for “first stage recovery”. They call it “dry-drunk syndrome”. In other words, even though the alcoholic has stopped drinking, he remains the same mean s.o.b. that he was when he still drank!
Second-stage Recovery requires a journey of discovery about oneself. Under the guidance of a mentor or sponsor, the addict explores his or her faults and shortfalls and endeavors to correct these.
There is a need to make a “searching and fearless” moral inventory of one’s self. There is an even more important need to achieve re-integration with one’s family and friends.
Holistic recovery gets you into a good place.
